Press release: EMEC metocean data open for innovation challenge

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has provided a series of metocean data sets to be used in a new Scottish open innovation competition aiming to stimulate creative thinking and data science to design new data products for the benefit of the marine environment, communities and economy.

Organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Data Lab, Scotland’s Blue Growth Data Challenge will make available data sets from 2015 in-situ observations and numerical modelling from EMEC’s wave and tidal energy test facilities in Orkney.

The data sets include wave conditions at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave test site; meteorological observations in two locations adjacent to EMEC’s wave and tidal test sites, collected using MetPak weather stations; data from a short tidal current observational campaign using TRDI Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler; and numerical modelling results for four locations around Orkney, showing simulated timeseries of tidal water level and currents.

Data sets will also be provided by the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications (SoXSA).

The Challenge is open to those who are studying, researching or working with data or the marine environment and who believe they can creatively work with open data to create a useful output. The Challenge aims to stimulate people to create new or innovative solutions to a problem without predetermining what those solutions will look like.

Prizes will be awarded to teams and individuals that are judged to have produced the best output for the benefit of the Highlands and Islands region and the winner will receive a package of support to help further develop their idea.

To enter the competition, applications must be submitted online by 23:59 BST on 23rd September 2018. To find out more about the Challenge visit: Blue Growth Data Challenge.

Elaine Buck, Technical Manager, EMEC said:

“EMEC’s metocean data is used by wave and tidal energy developers to design and build their technologies so that they can survive and operate in the harsh ocean environment. Our existing customers find access to our data crucial to accelerating marine energy progress in research.

“However we’re aware that this data may have other uses, and we’re sure that there are useful tools to be built and lessons to be learnt through the integration and further analysis of these data sets. Therefore we want to open up access to the data we collect on site to discover new knowledge and ideas which will foster blue growth around our shores.”

James Slaughter, Solutions Architect, SoXSA added:

“The Blue Growth Data Challenge is an exciting new opportunity combing tidal and marine energy, data and satellites. SoXSA’s aim is to provide a gateway for industries out with space to unlock the potential of satellite data.”